"Alphas" Season Wrap-Up

Spoilers Ahead.

I was worried about the second season of "Alphas" after the series changed showrunners. The first season had built up to this wonderful game-changer finale, where Dr. Rosen (David Strathairn) revealed the existence of Alphas to the world, and I wasn't sure where it would go from there. Would the show break from its superhero procedural formula, or find some way of hiding the existence of Alphas from the general public again to maintain the status quo? And what about the show's new Big Bad, Stanton Parish (John Pyper-Ferguson)? And the revelation that Dr. Rosen's daughter Dani (Kathleen Munroe) was also an Alpha - and on the wrong side?

Well, as I expected, the second season of "Alphas" took a step back. The existence of Alphas stayed public knowledge, and Dr. Rosen suffered some consequences for his actions, but all the regular characters wound up back together on the same team eventually, using their powers to fight the Alpha antagonist of the week. However, stopping Stanton Parrish became a bigger and bigger concern. Two newcomers were added to the regular cast: the team's new government liaison Nathan Clay (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali), and a spunky blonde named Kat (Erin Way), a young woman who can quickly pick up any skill, but can't remember events further than a month back in time. The story also got more serialized, as Dani hooked up with Hicks (Warren Christie), and Rachel (Azita Ghanizada) got a new love interest in government analyst John Bennett (Steve Byers). Meanwhile, Gary (Ryan Cartwright) moved into the office to deal with some ongoing traumas, while Nina (Laura Mennell) had a massive relapse into bad behavior that kept her out of the action until nearly halfway through the season.

In short, while "Alphas" didn't break out of the constraints of its usual formula, it continued to do a good job with the character building and the more personal stories that made the first season so strong. The level of the writing did not drop off at all, and remained fairly ambitious. The status quo did change and arcs did progress, but in a slow and steady fashion. Dr. Rosen was at the center of most of the year's big events, and we saw him become more morally compromised and ethically fallible through his interactions with his daughter. Nina had a fantastic run of episodes where we learned about her troubled past, which also helped to downplay some of the more problematic aspects of her character. I wasn't thrilled with the romances, particularly Rachel's awkward courtship with John, but they didn't do anything to detract from everything else that was going on. Poor Bill (Malik Yoba) didn't get much attention this year except as Kat's mentor figure and sparring buddy. And I wanted more Gary, but then I always want more Gary. However, the important thing was that all these characters worked together as an ensemble, even improving a bit on last year.

And that's why the second season of "Alphas" worked while the second season of "Heroes" fell apart. Several new characters were introduced in this set of "Alphas" episodes, but they had very specific purposes, and the time was taken to properly integrate them into the show's existing dynamics. There was a big, complicated season-spanning story, but few wild stunts and major twists that would have detracted from the show's careful character-building. The pace moved along briskly, so issues were resolved and questions were answered on a regular basis, but there were never the abrupt course corrections that "Heroes" leaned on so heavily to keep its energy up. Instead, "Alphas" maintains this great balance between its heavier and lighter stories, going to some very dark places while being careful to maintain its adventurous, often playful atmosphere. I'm a sucker for good banter, and "Alphas" frequently delivers. I might not be especially fond of the direction the writers have decided to take with some characters like Hicks, but at least the execution's been solid, and it doesn't feel like those choices were made lightly.

I really appreciate that "Alphas" has been kept much more grounded in reality, careful to show that every amazing superpower comes with a down side. Those powers have gotten more outlandish over time, no longer purely extensions of real world phenomena, but they still have clear limitations. The government's oversight of the team is always a source of tensions, not as prominent as they were last season, but still simmering in the background and sure to be the source of more trouble in the future. Initially I was a little disappointed that the series hadn't delved too much into the public reaction to the existence of Alphas, which plays out offscreen during the break between seasons. However, they've left the door open to revisit the issue in the future too, and it's not like the characters weren't given enough to deal with.

"Alphas" has become one of the best action series on television, a little bit darker, a little bit smarter this time out, but still very, very easy watching. Some ideas and developments didn't work for me, but an awful lot of them did, and I can't wait to see where "Alphas" is going next season.
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